Our Staff

Reverend Kenton A. Puls

Pastor Puls is pastor of both Mammoth Lakes Lutheran Church and Grace Lutheran Church in Bishop, CA. He graduated from Ft. Wayne Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Indiana in 1987. He served Canoga Park Lutheran Church in Canoga Park, California from 1987 to 1997. In January of 1997 he was called to pastor Grace Lutheran Church in Bishop. In November 2014 Pastor Puls was installed as pastor of Mammoth Lakes Lutheran Church. He continues his education by attending the Ft. Wayne Theological Seminary Symposium each year.

Pastor Puls is passionate about sharing the gospel of salvation through faith in Jesus. In addition to Sunday worship services, he preaches over the radio waves, in prisons and jails, in hospitals and nursing homes, and he loves teaching little children through weekly preschool chapels and midweek school. He is married to Sheri, and they have four grown children and five grandchildren.

Vicar Timothy M. Homan

We are excited! Our elder, Tim Homan, has prayerfully decided to enter the SMP program at Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, Indiana! SMP stands for Specific Ministry Pastor, and is a four year program. The first two years of the program Tim will be our vicar, acting as an assistant to Pastor Puls and learning all the ins and outs of leading worship and Bible studies, making calls on prospective and delinquent members, teaching confirmation, attending circuit meetings, ministering to the sick and dying, assisting in weddings, baptisms, and funerals, and all of the other duties of pastoral ministry, as well as completing theological coursework through the seminary. After these years of vicarage, Tim will complete a theological interview and will be certified for ordination in our churches in Mammoth and Bishop. After ordination, Tim will continue his studies, completing two more years of coursework and mentorship under Pastor Puls.

Tim was born to William and Diane Homan in Chicago Illinois on October 9, 1966. He is the oldest of four siblings, Kari, Cindy and Billy. He lived in Hazel Crest, IL and attended Grace Lutheran Church until March 1977 when he moved to Arcadia, California. He attended and was confirmed at Our Savior Lutheran Church. He graduated from San Diego State University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and a minor in Comparative Literature.

Tim is the father of an awesome daughter Olivia(22), and an equally impressive stepson Christopher(30), and is the proud owner of a Fox Red Labrador, Wrigley(8).

He is an avid Chicago Cubs fan and hypothesizes that the team you rooted for when you were 10 years old is still the team you root for now. Tim loves to hike, mountain bike, road bike, snowboard, stand up paddle board, and read when he is not outside or working.

TO PONDER

Divisions

We see divisions all around in our world. Divisions are in you and in me! Divisions are in politics and in powerful places. They are on teams and in families. They creep into daily business affairs and marriages, too. The hearts of children are divided when their parents decide to divorce one another.

St. Paul spoke to the church in Corinth about divisions. Each member had his own flag to fly while criticizing the other members. How does one build a church when divisions exist among the members?
Simply put, one cannot, unless one is able to turn to the cross and see God divided. On the cross, Jesus is completely divided from his Father. He does this so that you and I don’t have to be divided from God
eternally. You are put tightly together with God because of Christ, your King and Savior.

Look at yourself and you will see divisions. You want to do the right thing, but you seem to choose the wrong thing. You want to love your neighbor, but a lot seems to get in the way of your relationship. You want to please God, but you carry around a boat load of pet and petty sins. You are repentant, but
sometimes your repentance is not heart felt.

Divisions will never go away while we remain on this earth, but we can be confident that God gave us His power to work through them. We can remember St. Paul, who in the first chapter of Corinthians reminds us to enjoy the name of Jesus. Enjoy your life, appreciating your great relationships and the mercies of Christ to save you. Enjoy the day, because Jesus gave it to you and He was divided for you on the cross.

Secondly, hold high the banner of God’s love for the world. The Euengelion was the victory banner that town criers held up to their communities when the war was won. Christ has won your war for you; don’t let non-essential divisions win the day!

Finally, remember your escape. You have escaped the perversity and punishment of your sin in hell. Christ, by his perfect life and sinless death on the cross, has delivered eternity in harmony with the Triune God to you! Your divisions will be eliminated when you see your Savior face to face. The world searches for escape from divisions through career, savings accounts, fame, prestige, and material possessions. These things are insecure. Your escape is secure, free from any possibility of corruption or destruction. Heaven’s door is not shut, but is wide open for you.

No divisions will exist when we enjoy Christ’s heavenly throne. There will be harmony and peace beyond imagination. You will see many people that you know and also many that you have never met. You will all be unified under the mighty name of Jesus.

In Jesus’ name,

Pastor Puls